Name
Plenary Session 3 - The Trump Healthcare Agenda, Midterms, & the Future of Integrated Care
Date & Time
Saturday, October 10, 2026, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Location Name
Grand Ballroom DEFGH
Description
Heading into the 2026 midterms, health care affordability has become the defining economic concern for voters across party lines — creating pressure that is actively reshaping what is politically viable in Washington and what is not. This session offers a candid, grounded assessment of what the second Trump administration's health policy agenda means for integrated, team-based care: tracing the first-year record from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Medicaid restructuring and the expiration of ACA enhanced subsidies, to the consolidation of SAMHSA and HRSA into the new Administration for a Healthy America, to the rollout of the MAHA agenda and its emphasis on chronic disease prevention and whole-person care. The picture is not one-dimensional — federal coverage losses and behavioral health funding pressures pose serious near-term challenges, while the administration's investment in models like MAHA ELEVATE and its philosophical focus on root-cause, lifestyle-based approaches reflect genuine, if imperfect, alignment with integrated care's core premises. Attendees will leave with a clear-eyed view of the threats, a realistic map of the opportunities, and practical strategies for advancing integrated care at the state level and through payment reform — regardless of who controls Washington.
Tags
Policy and Systems Change
Session Type
Plenary
Discuss the impact of the midterms on the current administration's healthcare agenda.
Review the impact of the administration's healthcare agenda to this point.
Identify the opportunities and threats to team-based integrated care in the near term.

A Preview of the Role Health Care May Play in the 2026 Election. KFF, April 2026. https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/a-preview-of-the-role-health-care-may-play-in-the-2026-election/

Health Policy in the First Year of Trump's Second Administration. Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, May 2026. https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/health-policy-first-year-trumps-second-administration

Proposed Federal Budget Cuts Could Exacerbate the Behavioral Health Crisis. Commonwealth Fund, August 2025. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2025/proposed-federal-budget-cuts-could-exacerbate-behavioral-health-crisis

MAHA ELEVATE Model. CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), 2026. https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/maha-elevate

Implementing High-Quality Primary Care: A Policy Menu for States. Milbank Memorial Fund, 2026. https://www.milbank.org/publications/implementing-high-quality-primary-care-a-policy-menu-for-states/